Envelope-closing means



May 8, 1923.

F. CLARKE ENVELOPPE CLOSING MEANS Filed Abril 30. 1921 INVENTOR ATTORNEYPatented May 8, w23.

`IilstANK CLARKE, OF WAGO, TEXAS ENVELGlE-CLOSING- MEANS.

Application filed April 30, 1921. '.SerialNo. 465,677. v

T all fwiiofmz't may' concern.'

Be it known that l, FRANK CLARKE, a citizen of the United States,residing at lVaco, in the county of McLennan and State or" Texas, haveinvented new and useful Improvements in Envelope-Closing Means., or"which the following is a specification. This invention. relates to adevice for closing'envelopes, the general object of the invention beingto provide means for turning the flap over-upon the body of the envelopeand applying'pressure to tlieflap after it has been turned over to causethe adhesive to adhere to the body, such means being associated writ-hsuitable conveying means.

`Another object of the invention is to provide a part of the foldingmeans with a knife edge for giving the liap its initial turningmovement.

This invention also consistsin certain other features of constructionand in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to 'behereinafterV fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawingsand specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

In describing my invention in detail,'reference will be had to theaccompanying drawings wherein like characters denote like orcorresponding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1is a. plan view showing the folding means and a. part of the conveyingbelt.

Figure Q. is a section on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Figure 2. l

Figure 4 is a section on line 4 4 of Figure 2.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the front end of the folding membershowing its knife edge.

In these views 1 indicates a. part of the conveyor frame and 2 a part ofthe conveyor belt which is provided with the transverse strips 3 at itsfront edge. which form brackets for receiving the envelopes. one ofwhich is shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.

The folding means consists of a folding member 4 and a holding member 5.the member 4 being supported by the brackets 6 which are secured to apart of frame 1 and the holding member 5 is supported by the bracket 7which is also connected to a part of the frame. Member 4 is` formed froman angle bar, the brackets 6 beingvsecured to the horizontal flange. thehorizontal flange is of large dimensions, as shown at 8, and thevertical flange is curved outwardly acrossr this enlargement, as shownat 9, this flange being slightly in- The front endofl clined'atitsiouter end, as shown in Figures 1 and 5. The innerer forward cornerof part 811s provided with a knife edge, as

shown at 10, so that the apof the envelope will ride over the same andthus be given its initial lifting movement;V Adjacent the center of themember 4 the vertical `flange is twisted, as at 11 so as to locate therear part of this flange at an incline. as shown at 12 whichgraduallymerges' into the horizontal flanges at the eXtreme end of themember.

Tt will thus be seen that as the Hap rides` over the knife edge it'willbe lifted-slightly and then'as itstrikes the curved partr9 ot'v thevertical flan ge it will be movedfto ayertical position.l or a positionat right angles' to the body, and upon the continued movement of thebelt, said; flap will strike the twisted part 11 so that it will bemoved downwardly towards the body of the envelopeA and then as it movesalong the part 12 it will gradually be `forced upon the body. In orderto press the flap rmly upon the body to cause the adhesive thereon tostick to the body l. provide a member 13 which is hinged to the rear endot member 4 and is pressed upon the belt by the spring 14. Thus astheenvelope leaves` tbe folding device its flap will encounter thismember 13 which will apply pressure upon the same and thus cause it toadhere to the body.

The holding member 5 is' also formed of a channel bar with the bracket 7secured. to

the horizontal flange thereof. This flange coming in contact with theadhesive coated' surface of the flap of the envelope. This member 5serves the purpose of holding the envelope upon the belt and acts as astraight edge about which the flap is turned.

As the envelope moves under the holding member of the folding` device itwill be firmly held in posit-ion with the flap ready to be acted upon bythe folding' member. The knife edge of the folding member will canse theiiap to move off the conveyor belt and the curved part oi the verticalange of said member will move the iiap into upright position and thenthe twister part will move it downwardly towards the body of the`envelope, the rear part l2- finishingg the folding` operation and thespring member 1S will apply pressure upon the flap vand cause the flapto adhere to the body.

The device is mainly intended for use upon envelopes with narrow flaps1lsiichj for example, as envelopes for containing' seeds, though it willof course be understood that the device could he made for `ose uponother kinds of envelopes with but slight change.

The belt may travel upon rollersn such es shown at '17 and I locate oneof 'these rollers under the member 13 to take the pressure thereof. v

It is thought from the forego-ingr description that the advantages andnovel features of my invention will be readily apparent.

I desire it to be understood that I may make changes in the constructionand in the combination yand arrangement of the several parts, providedthat vsuch changes fall within lthe scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is l. An envelope closing device comprising a conveyor, aholding ymember for holding the envelope upon the. conveyor and afolding member associated with the holding member and comprising acurved and twisted flange for folding` the flap upon the envelope, thefront end of said folding member being iiat and provided with a knifeedge for in-itiall;7 lifting the flap.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising; a conveyor,holdingmeans `for holding the envelopes upon the conveyor, a folderassociated with the. holding means and comprising a iiat front endhaving its inner corner provided with a knife'edge and an upwardlyextending lanfre havingoits front end curved outwardly across the flatpart and an intermediate part twisted outwardly and downwardly and 'itsrear part being substantially fiat.'

3. A device of thel class :described coinprising a conveyor belt, aholding vmember hayingr its forward end curving upwardly :and its rearpart cut away to leave a reduced fiat part` a folding .member associatedwith the holding member, said folding member having a. knife edge atyits front end and an upwardly extending flange havk ing' an outwardlycurved front zedge and a downwardly and outwardly intermediate twistedpart and ya spring actuated hinged member at the rear end of the foldingmeans. g

in testimony whereof I aflifx my signature.

FRANK CLARKE.

